Once Upon A Crystal Ball
by Aiwen L
Summary: After reading the Manga I felt bad for Jareth and thus this story was born. Contains Jareth flashbacks set 4 years after the movie, and is pretty funny at times. New characters and some insight to what the labyrinth is all about.. I hate summaries ,btw. .
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: A pal (Hitherto refered to as JLB) got inspired after reading Return to Labyrinth. I'm a major Jareth sympathizer, and I thought he deserved some happy times, and thusly, this story was birthed. I tried contains a few flashbacks, and takes place 4 years after Labyrinth. I wrote for Jareth, and tried to stay pretty much in character without taking Sarah's personal thoughts about him into account. If I fail, please understand that I try to understand the deeper layers of the Goblin king, but critisism is still more that welcome.

Oh god, I'm rambling!Here's the story!

-------

"It's fate," the figure whispered through the doorway.

The boy looked up with wide eyes.. Always things had been different for him, but this man just materialized in his doorway and began spewing about power and destiny and fate. It was a lot for a fifteen year old to handle at once.

"All you've ever wanted is on the other side of this doorway.. It's what you dream about..."

Jareth blinked... all he could see was the hall behind a slinky shadow. The figure continued, "If you want it, there's no going back... "

In a moment of pure instinct and belief, Jareth finally spoke.

"I want it. "And with that, the figure moved aside, and Jareth walked through what he had previously thought was his hallway.Within less than four steps down, it dissolved around him to reveal a yellowish sky. As the walls melted to the ground, trees and grass patches took their place. A discolored raven fell from a tree branch just ahead of Jareth and writhed on the ground, its legs tangled in what appeared to be the chain of a pocket watch. He walked and pulled the device from the bird. It gazed unblinking at him with yellow eyes then suddenly, Jareth was now standing before a tall man with those same eyes. Long black hair framed his face and broad shoulders were adorned with black feathers.

Jareth took a shocked step back, more because it seemed he should be shocked than the actual feeling of it. The man smirked.

"You have thirteen hours to reach the castle, and all of this... is yours..." Jareth looked at the watch, noticing it had 13 hours, and it just ticked 13:01. He looked back up, and the man was gone.

A single black feather lie on the spot where the tall man had stood before, but the wind stole it away and cast it off somewhere else. Far ahead of Jareth was a crooked path that eventually led up to a gigantic wall. It was overgrown but still had a sense of magnificence to it. Perhaps it was the fact that the sandy ground made the wall look as if it were solid gold, maybe it was just because of it's unusually tall height. Jareth glanced around for a door, seeing none, he walked up to the wall and tried to run his fingers over it. They met no resistance, but the wall itself rippled and glittered like water.

About that time, a pebble came belting out of the sky just below the wall's top. Normally, it would've hit the wall and fallen to the ground, but because he was touching it, the stone came right through and popped him right on his right temple.

------

Jareth's body jerked awake and his eyes darted open. Moonlight seeped through the sheer curtains on his open window. He sighed and sat up.."Another dream..What a nuisance... " He looked about the dim chamber. Nothing was visible except the open window, its curtains, and a nightstand beside his bed. Upon the nightstand sat the watch, its hands matched up on the 13 for a moment.

Also visible on the floor next to the window was a curled up fuzz-ball that was snoring rather cuteishly. Jareth contemplated going back to sleep, but figured it was impossible under the circumstances and instead slid out of bed. He walked over to the figure and nudged at it with his bare foot.

"Hey, get up will you?"The ball of fuzz sprang up before the words were even said; something about the cold bare foot on its warm fur wasn't pleasant. Rubbing an eye, a tiny voice emerged from the thing.

"..What time is it?"

"Doesn't matter.. I need you to go downstairs and fetch me the blueprints of the oubliette... " In reality, the King just wanted to be alone for a while, "Just leave them on the desk in the study...that'll be all for now.."

Marix was smarter than he looked and knew there was no point in the oubliette blueprints. He left anyways, cause he was also quite familiar with the wrath of Jareth when he got mad- and it was too early in the morning for that. Marix left the chamber and slinked off to spend the rest of the night in Jareth's study. Jareth watched the door shut behind the creature before turning back to his window. He put his hands on the sill and leaned into the moonlight.

"...Master of all I see and then some.." he mumbled aloud, "And yet I'm troubled so by my own subconscious... " These dreams were bothersome, and only getting more so every night. The cool breeze wafted around him and in an instance where once a man stood, a barn owl hovered momentarily before dashing out the window.

----

The very next evening, a masquerade was held in the ballroom; beings from every nook and cranny of the Labyrinth were invited- along with people outside the gigantic and ever changing wall. Marix was upstairs in Jareth's room, wondering where the King'd gotten off to.

Jareth paced about, reluctant to attend the dance just yet. He pulled a crystal from nowhere and gazed into it, watching the figures dance and chatter within. Closest in view was a tall willowy woman in a dress almost as pale as her skin, she had a silvery mask covering her eyes. She was currently dancing with a short-haired pointy eared man with a red coat and the mask that gave the impression of a tiger. Jareth recognized the woman as the lake lady, and the man as the mayor's son. His eyes shifted elsewhere about the crystal. They paused on an ornate dress swinging gracefully with its back toward him.

"Pretentious woman.." he muttered at his recognizance before he slid the crystal away and made his way back to his chambers where a orange ball of fluff was waiting. "Tell me Marik, why I continue to have these things?..." he asked the creature as he opened his wardrobe.

Marix shrugged, "..That really depends on what things you're talking about." He snuck out the door before Jareth had a chance to ask yet another question he didn't want to answer.

----

"I wonder when he'll come downstairs.."

"..Can't be too long now, then again- maybe he's quite the coward after all." The first one to speak was a frail looking woman in a reddish gown and winged mask to match it. The second was a man whose mustache was so thin it looked as though it were drawn on his face.

----

Jareth grumbled and contemplated throwing a shoe at the insolent orange thing, but thought better of it and pulled out a white adorned suit from the wardrobe and the owl-mimicking mask with it. He sighed as he stepped down the stairs and into the entrance of the ballroom. He casually smiled and raised his voice so as to be heard..

"Welcome, please excuse my ..belated arrival.. I trust everyone is enjoying the ball?"

After Jareth had made his entrance, the music continued and dancers danced. Chattering became a constant drone, and most everyone merely gave a Jareth a smile or a 'how do you do?' One individual however wasn't so pleasant when confronting Jareth. In fact, his very words were:

"How dare you throw a party in what should've been my ballroom..?"

Jareth gave a soft sigh when he heard the voice behind him. He slowly turned to face the thorn in his side, one of many.

"Evening Zandr... Are my accommodations not suitable to your tastes...?" He crossed his arms airily, ".. I'm sure Varien would have approved..."

"Varien was mad. Especially when he handed the place over to.. you." Zandr's navy blue attire stood out drastically from the colors of costumes everyone around him was wearing. He frowned upon Jareth as if he were a muddy, stray dog that smelled of rotten garbage.

The tiny Marix turned here and there to avoid being stepped on until he found the familiar boots belonging to his master.

"Sir, there's a disgruntled brute outside the castle calling rocks up and down the streets.." Jareth looked down at creature and sighed.

"Well it seems this little discussion must, regrettably, be postponed.. A pleasure having you as a guest, Zandr... " Jareth's voice dripped heavy with sarcasm as he left again, following Marix outside.

"I expect this problem to be a big enough one to warrant interrupting me, Malix .."

"..There's no more front door. Our guests will have to leave through the front hole now.." Marix pointed out as they walked into the great hall which was covered in rumble and stones from where the giant door had been. "What really concerns me is that this beast isn't one of brains. Sir, someone told him to do this..."

Jareth's irritability had just grown to the point of a barely contained rage in about two seconds. Of course, Zandr was the first suspect in his mind.

"I'll be damned if I allow the entire kingdom to see this embarrassment.." He waved his hand and cleared a path through the rubble. His pace increased and he saw the backside of the pawn causing this immediate annoyance.

The brown beast was bellowing and Jareth felt earth rumble under his feet as a giant boulder threatened to take out a section of the wall. Jareth pulled out a crystal and threw it at the boulder and it vanished into nothingness. He now turned his attention to the beast by giving a shrill whistle, unsure whether it would respond to speech.

Hearing the high pitched whistle, the brute turned around and looked at the mess he'd caused. He saw Jareth standing before the mess along with another- smaller version of himself. "..Ludo neck.. hurt.. bad!" He then reached up to his neck where a spiked collar sat and put a hand on it to get it off. His great paw was pricked by the sharp points; he roared out and drove another boulder in no particular direction. It wasn't just the weight of the heavy band that he didn't like, there was a row of smaller spike on the inside of the collar, cutting right into his neck. Jareth's eyes widened with mild shock before he tossed another crystal, this time at the creature. It turned into a muzzle on impact and the bellowing ceased. Jareth raised his voice to the flailing creature.

"..Be still!" This was ridiculous.. But if he didn't stop this thing, he wouldn't have much of a castle left. When the thing stilled some, he approached it to further examine the collar. It was nothing he recognized, but it seemed easy enough to removed, for one who doesn't have paws for hands. He sighed and rubbed his temple, "Well.. bend down then... "

Marix had decided to keep his distance from both the dangerous beings and just watched this scene unfold with fascination. Ludo, unable to call the rocks anymore or cry out in pain, had only to listen to what Jareth was trying to tell him to do. After comprehending it, he leaned forward towards the small man, with the only concern of getting the collar off.

Jareth, full of rage at whomever had caused him this inconveinance, bent more toward the lump of fur and maneuvered around the collar. It had definitely been enforced by some sort of magic, and few people around here could have managed the removing the thing. After a moment or two of tinkering, the collar fell to the ground. Jareth also removed the muzzle, now knowing the beast was capable of basic speech, he addressed it. "Who put that thing on you and brought you here?" he was clear and concise, but certainly not sympathetic.

"Uhh.." Ludo looked around for quite sometime before shrugging, his face grew wrinkly with the disappointment of not knowing. Then, his eyes grew real big. "..Sarah knows!"

Jareth grumbled inwardly. Of course.. Sarah. It _had_ to be Sarah. Today was not Jareth's day.

"Right...her." Jareth gestured at the rubble. "Think you might clean your mess up a bit before you go?" He said, trying to refrain from sounding as disgruntled as he really was.

"Sure." Ludo let out a loud bellow, and all the rubble made of rocks rolled off back to nature. Only the door remained now, split in half and dented beyond repair from the stones.

Jareth set to his work, gracefully moving his hands over a freshly appeared crystal, re-weaving reality as only he could. After a few focused minutes, he released the crystal. The old door vanished, and a new one solidified in its place. It wasn't as grand as the first, but it would suffice for the time. Jareth looked toward Marix, who had been standing in the background the whole time.

"Inform the guests that I won't be returning tonight... I'll be in my room. " He entered the new door and looked back, "I'd rather there not be another reason to warrant any more little disturbances tonight.. "

**A/N**: So, there you have it. What d'ya think? Love it, Hate it? Hate me? Tell me!.. Also, I'd really like some help with a better title for this, as well as a chapter title. It was written in somewhat RP format, so the pieces just fell into place with no planning whatsoever.

Review please!

--Starr


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Now that I know someone is reading, it's incentive to update... Here ya go. .. **

Marix made sure that Ludo found his way out of the goblin city before returning to the ballroom to break the news to the guests. After a time, he became very curious in wanting to know where Sarah was.

Jareth paced about, he had been doing that a lot lately. He had thought himself ridden of Sarah. Of course, there was always the chance the beast was mistaken. . . . Jareth sighed and sat on the windowsill. There was only one way to know for sure. With a whoosh, he changed. He ruffled his white feathers before dashing off into the distance.

"What was that?" Sarah looked over at her window to see what the answer to the question would be. She sighed, "It's just an owl, Andrew. Oh my god, it's an owl!" She jumped up and pulled a bedsheet with her. "Go downstairs and get me a glass of water, would you?" Once the confused teenage boy left her room, she locked the door and opened her window. "What are you doing here?"

Jareth's eyes bugged even more than the owl's were naturally. Several tempting scenarios skimmed through his mind, but he decided on a less extreme approach, and just pecked expectantly at the window. Needless to say, the issue he had come to resolve was temporarily forgotten. "Fine, stay out there." Sarah walked outside in sheer curiosity and partial anger. Jareth hadn't come here in ages, so what was he doing here now? Jareth's feathers were flustered from the situation, and he changed when he saw no one follow Sarah out. He crossed his arms, attempting to hide his surprise at the matter.

"..Who was he?" He asked with false disinterest.

"Don't change the subject like you even care who he is. Why are you here?" She hadn't noticed until now her disadvantage. Here she was, out in the windy night, armed with only a bed-sheet. Jareth fumbled around in his mind.. Why had he come here?.. He looked away from Sarah.. Ah, yes.

".. Wouldn't.. happen to know of a sabotage plot would you?..."

"Isn't there always a sabotage plot on your castle? And what if I do know of it, you're gonna make me go through the Labyrinth again?.." Sarah didn't want to talk with him right now and knew that Andrew could come back any minute. "Look, just get out of here." She turned to go back inside, hoping he'd listen to her for once.

"Sarah," he took a step toward her,"I could use your help for once. And if you look back, I think you'll remember I've never done anything more than what you've asked me to..." He listened for interruptions from the man who had struck immediate dislike in him after he finished talking. Sarah stopped in her tracks,

"...Did you just say you needed my help?" She turned around, "Now what would Jareth, Great king of the goblins, need my help with?"Jareth sighed..

"Well, I imagine you can understand, with little stretch of the imagination judging by your tone, that I've made quite the list of enemies over the years. Rarely do they actually make their point of despising me with malignant actions.. " Jareth looked her in the eye, "One of your friends suggested you could assist me. "

"...Ludo! Is he alright?" Sarah finally knew what all this was about. And because she now had that knowledge, she reopened her window/door and pulled him inside. "Stay right here and tell me, what's happened to Ludo?" Upon saying that, she went into her closet to change into a suitable outfit instead of a bedsheet.

Jareth grumbled at her sudden change of heart...

"He's fine. Now any rate.. .Look, I can see I interrupted you," again, he felt a twinge of hate, " Just drop me a name, and I can handle it from there..."

"..It's a bit more complicated than that." Sarah came out of the closet and looked for a pair of shoes to put on. "I don't have a name to give you.."Jareth looked at her.

"...Are you intending on accompanying me back and leaving ..." Jareth paused. "Is he still getting that water? How incompetent... " "Not really, I failed to mention to him that the plumbing's out, so I don't expect he'll come back with water if he comes back at all.." Getting off topic, Sarah stood up from putting shoes on. "But that's not why you're here, now is it?"

Jareth shrugged sulkily.

"Well. It wasn't why I came, but that matter certainly has to be brought to attention now that it has come to that. " He still had half a mind to mess with that boy a little.. but he let it fly from his thought for the time being.

"...Do you want my help or not?" Sarah needed an excuse to get rid of the one downstairs, but was drawn to a blank at what to tell him. One thing was for sure, she wasn't going to let Jareth talk to him.

Jareth knew she wasn't about to do this for him, but rather for that fur covered beast with an IQ of G.

"I don't _want_ your help. But that's not to say that I certainly couldn't use it. " He walked toward her bedroom door, intent on getting a better look at the insufferable buffoon he glanced at earlier. Sarah beat him to the door,

"Where do you think you're going?" Just as she asked that, there was a knock on the door. "There's not any water. ...Why'd you lock me out, Sarah?"

Jareth crossed his arms and lowered his brow. "Sarah. I'm not just something you can keep hidden from someone. " He made absolutely no attempt at quieting his voice.

"Is there someone in there? And what's the big deal with the owl?" Sarah glared at Jareth with the desire to kill him this very instant. Instead, she took a very deep breath and opened the door to let Andrew in, who fortunately had found a housecoat to wear. Jareth had no success in hiding his frown when he saw the boy the second time.

".. .. Judging by that look on your face, Sarah hasn't mentioned me. I can assure the same sentiments on my end.."

"...Who are you? And what's with the tights?" The very confused and slightly upset Andrew ignored Sarah for the time being. Which was okay, because she was now waiting to see who'd kill the other first.

"...An old flame" Jareth answered simply. "And I refuse to answer an inquiry of dress to one currently wearing a house robe. "

"Well, under the circumstances, you can understand why I'm wearing a house robe. You however, have no excuse for wearing tights.." Sarah had to intervene before someone actually did die.

"Andrew... This is Jareth, my... uncle from.. out of town."

"Uncle!" Jareth snapped. "UNCLE?..." He laughed, "Sarah, Sarah.. You're lieing to him? ... Is it from shame... Or are you afraid he'll think you're crazy?.. If I'm this much hindrance on your relationship here.. _'uncle' _Jareth will leave the window whence he came and go back to rotting in hell.."

"No, I'm coming with you.." Sarah didn't want to and would rather shoot herself in the kneecap than help him, but she was helping her friends- not Jareth. "Go home, Andrew.." She shut the door on him before he could protest and walked outside through the window.

Jareth looked at her.

"This has been, unquestionably, the absolute worst day I've ever had. " He stopped at that, as Sarah's house wafted out of existence and the castle materialized around them.

"Alright, now just what is it you've having problems with?" Sarah asked once the change of scenery was complete. Seeing as how she hadn't been in this part of the castle before, she forgot what she'd just asked him and started looking around.

"Oh.. for starters... Everything. " Jareth slumped tiredly into a chair. "What could you possibly see in that Anthony anyway?"

"It's Andrew. And it's what I don't see in him. I don't see anything in him that resembles you- so he's almost perfect.. -Where's Ludo?"

Jareth couldn't take this anymore.Today had put a lot of strain on his body and, more drastically, his pride. He stood up.

"He's home. Get me when you feel like being helpful." He said irritably before stalking out the door and to his room. Before the door could even close, a tunic clad blonde goblin walked into the room with a feather duster. She stood about 5'1'' and looked to be in her early twenties. She dusted a few moments before noticing Sarah.

"Oh, excuse me Miss. Are you a guest of the Kings?"

"Not exactly. ...Where's the main door from here?" Sarah hadn't a clue where she was in the castle, but in the time it took to wait for an answer, she'd decided to find it on her own and started down the hall.The maid followed after her,

"Would you be Sarah?" she tucked a piece of blonde hair behind a pointy ear as she tagged behind. Sarah stopped.

"...You know of me?" This was news to her, since she didn't know she was so well known throughout the Labyrinth. The goblin girl flushed a bit,

"Well, yes.. I heard you visited the Labyrinth a-a few years back... "

"So I did. How do you know, and why?" Sarah really wanted to go find her friends rather than talk to this stranger. At this moment, a group of masked people and goblins of all sorts passed through the hallway with the looks of leaving on their faces. More than a few saw Sarah and stopped where they were standing to stare at her.The gobliness remembered her question from earlier,

"Oh the main door, it's right through there, miss. " She pointed the direction the crowd was heading. "I work in the castle.." she said quietly, "It was quite hard not to find out what had happened. Would you like me to refreshen your room whilst you're out?" She was under the impression that Sarah would be returning later.

"...My room? No, you can show me to it now if that's alright." Sarah looked around at the faces staring at her. She didn't recognize hardly any of them, and they soon started heading off in all directions of the castle depending on whether they were a guest or not.The goblin nodded, "Yes, of course. I'm Lirette, if you need anything from me just ask, " she said in a soft, excitable manner. She led her up several flights of stairs and down a grande hallway to a large door. "I'm afraid it's a bit dusty, I don't clean it as often as I used to. "She smiled as she opened the door. The room itself was reminiscent of Sarah's own room, but to a larger and grander scale the same bed-sheets, only silken and adorning a canopy bed, her book shelf, containing all the novels she owned and then some.

Lirette smiled yet again, " To be honest, most of us didn't think you'd be back..."

----

Jareth lay in his bed and he conjured a crystal and called into it,

"Marix! Come here!"

---

Sarah dismissed Lirette and sat on her bed looking out through the open door into the hallway for a time. Then something passed by in a blur, but she recognized it immediately as the being who was the initial threat behind the sabotage plot. she got up to follow it, but didn't see where it went. 'Hmm.. where did it go?...'

---

**Reviewing is nice. And please.. a title and chapter titles .. greatly greatly amazingly appreciated. A lot. **

**Also, I neglected to mention future illustrations for this story. Some of you may be more curious about the outward appearance of Jareth's predesecor. I'll post links when I get them scanned in. **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN/... ..And.. chapter three**

Marix cringed his ears at Jareth's yelling and made off for his chambers. He pushed the door aside and walked in to find the King laying on his bed.

"...You called?"Jareth looked over at the orange animal.

"Tell me, is Zandr still here?... Or for that matter the other guests?""They're all on their way out, but Zandr is a little _lost_ I believe.." Truth be told, Zandr was snooping around in places he shouldn't be, but Marix saw no reason to anger the already pissed man by telling him this.

"Is that so?..Well.. If you would, have someone either escort him out or bring him here. No telling what that sneaky wretch is trying to get his hands on." Any other time, Jareth would have been down there himself.. but, as it were his mind was a little.. preoccupied at the moment. "I'll return shortly then, Highness." Marix left and found a few security goblins. He sent them to find Zandr and waited for a few minutes until the group of them had Zandr brought before Jareth, protesting the whole way that he was merely trying to leave. Jareth stood up, "Since you were in no hurry to leave, I thought you might have been anxious to continue our little conversation from earlier.." Maybe this was someone Jareth could take out the day's frustrations on. Marix sighed,

"Well, if I'm no longer needed I'll take my leave." Smarter than to wait for an actual answer, he ran off to find some dinner.

Sarah had to ask around a few times, but finally found Jareth's room. She wasn't surprised to find him with a group of others and didn't care what he was up to.

"I found your culprit, but it disappeared and I don't know where it went.." Jareth looked at Zandr and the guards,

"See that he finds the door out this time. " Then he turned to Sarah, " Well, let's go find it then, shall we?" He loved this, the opportunity to rid himself of two problems.. the betrayer and the girl.. Out of sight, out of mind... right? He grabbed her arm and led her outside. "What does it look like?"

"...Who was that?" Sarah's attention had been quickly focused on Zandr rather than the sabotage mastermind. By the way that Jareth apparently hated him, she already liked him.

Zandr had also taken notice of this girl who had interrupted their conversation promptly after it began. Though the spears of the security goblins urged him towards the door, he was walking backwards and trying to see what was going on with the other two. Jareth looked at her as they walked.

"For all intents and purposes, let's say he's my cousin... He's what would have been the end of the Labyrinth. Now, what does that fiend look like?"

"If I see it I'll tell you.." Sarah wanted to stay in the Labyrinth long enough to see her friends and knew quite well if she told Jareth what it looked like, he'd search on his own and send her back home.Jareth let loose her arm.

"If that's the way you want to be about it-" Jareth was interrupted as something came skidding up to them, barely halting in time.

"Ambrocious! Watch where you're--Sarah?"

"Sir Didymus? How'd you get in here? And where's Ludo?" Sarah forgot of Jareth completely and bent down to speak with her vertically challenged friend.

Jareth sighed and rubbed at his temples as he slunk back to his room, intending on at least feigning sleep for the next few hours, though admittedly, sleeping off a few years was quite tempting.

"Sir Ludo? I regret I can't say for sure, M'lady... Hast thou already checked the woods? " Didymus cocked his head sidewise as he talked, his fuzzy ears flopping in time with the words."No, I can't even find the way out of the castle. I'm not sure I should be leaving in fact. Sir Didymus, I need you to go and make sure Ludo's alright.." Sarah didn't know until now how tired she was. And since she was obviously going to be here for longer than thirteen hours, now seemed a great time to grab some sleep.

Sir Didymus bowed so low, he almost fell off his canine steed,

"Of course, Lady Sarah.. I shall go and give brave Ludo your message of concern, and return with haste! Ambrocious, onward!"

Sarah wondered around for a while until she found her room and almost immediately fell asleep.

Jareth gazed through a giant crystal at figure in white, dancing.. dancing with him. For a year, he had been seeing her dreams.. He wrote them off at first, but no matter how he tried to avoid them, there they were. She was human, and his first connection to the real world since he took the throne. How did she know of him?..Of the Labyrinth..? She intrigued him, and now he found he couldn't stop watching her if he had wanted to.

The girl started to randomly flash in and out of the dream, always doing something different. Each time she was seen after dancing, she had a small red book with her. She never read past the first half of it and often recited it over and over again to inanimate objects and animals. Jareth stared through the crystal. He wanted to be there...Sarah's reality, what was once his reality.

He decided that he could go there, Varien certainly had, and with that mere assurance, he vanished, only to become the owl flying over head. He landed on a branch in view of her window as her sleeping figure began to stir.

Sarah had been awaken by the thunderous storm clinging to the horizon. She went to her window to watch it grow in size and get ever closer to her house, completely unaware of her watcher.

Jareth stared at her as she gazed toward the storm.. So... that was what had awaken her? Well..then...

In a moment, the thunder lulled and the wind began to still. The owl stretched and yawned as it still watched the raven haired girl. 'Go back to dreaming...' it thought fondly. Unable to hear the storm any longer, she returned to bed. After a while of turning over and over, she sat up and reached towards her nightstand and pulled the red book from a drawer. Before opening it, she started to recite a few lines from it.

The owl eyed the book curiously... there was something about it that had thrown up a flag in his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp the meaning. He watched her for a while, before the chill got the better of him and he flew home.

Jareth jerked awake and gasped for breath.. Another...'dream'.. Couldn't he get a moments peace? Marix had silently crept into Jareth's room whilst he was sleeping, it being the most comfortable floor to sleep on. When Jareth woke, he did as well unfortunately.

Jareth looked at the yawning orange fuzz-ball.

"Is Sarah around?" He looked at his watch, he had been asleep for 5 hours. "...Who? And why?" Marix obviously hadn't been informed of anyone named Sarah staying in the castle. But if it was 'the Sarah', then he'd be in for it for more than not just answering the question.

"Nevermind, you useless ball of fuzz. Go back to sleep. " Jareth would see for himself.. right now, being away from her was just as much an emotional hindrance as being with her. He stood up, not bothering to redress, and walked to his bookcase. He waved it aside and walked the short hallway that led right to Sarah's room, the passage being something he saw as a necessity when constructing it.

Marix shrugged and curled up again. Then, he considered the possibility that Jareth wouldn't return to his bed for the rest of the night. He climbed up and slept on one corner of it simply because it was warmer than the floor.

The large bookcase in Sarah's room swung open to reveal a passageway, but it didn't disturb her slumber. Jareth was tempted to wake her, but just sat down in the chair and waited for her to wake on her own accord. He grabbed the little red book from the shelf and thumbed through it.

Though the massive sound of the bookcase being moved didn't even cause her to stir, the almost inaudible fumbling of pages from the little red book woke her in an instant.

"What are you doing in here? Put that down.."Jareth complied with her command and stood back up.

"I'm sure you're eager to get back home. Are you ready to help me catch the treasonist yet?"

"...You don't have any idea what time it is, do you?"

Right now, she wanted to strangle him for waking her up in the middle of the night, but something told her that he wasn't in here just to see if she'd tell him of the culprit or not.

"It's 3.."Jareth slid back into the chair and looked in his mind for words.. "So. .. Things haven't changed here in four years.. but... you can't say the same, right?"

"Well.. See the difference is that I live in a world that actually exists. Wheres, you're fictional and so is everything else around you." Sarah was surprised she knew something he didn't, but now wasn't the time to be telling him that nothing would change unless..

"Are you in here to just talk? Because I'm sure at least one of us wants to get some more sleep.."

Jareth sighed. ".. It hasn't changed because it's _fictional_... It's because the time here-.. Nevermind. If you want it to be fictional, than it will be..." he said the last part really quietly as he stood back up and opened the bookcase.

"..What it is with the time here? Thirteen hour days don't make any sense at all.." Now that he'd got this conversation started, Sarah was struck with questions of the Labyrinth's puzzles and nonsense. Jareth paused.

"Don't say it doesn't make sense, if you keep thinking of it like that, nothing here ever will.. I can't begin to tell you anything until you've understood that.. " He walked out of the room.Sarah got out of bed to examine what was now a moving bookcase. She tried but couldn't open it, it only opened from the other side. Sighing, she picked up the small red book and carried it back to bed and opened it. She found the middle of the book and read the last lines of the page almost from memory. Then, taking a deep breath, she turned the page to see what happened after that day.

Jareth stood, just on the other side of the bookcase for a long time before heading off to his study. He grabbed a blackened leather book from the shelf and opened it. He read over the swirling text of his mentor. Varien had chronicled by hand most of the Labyrinth's history, but, nonetheless, there were blank spaces. After a while Jareth realized his hunger and stole away down the stairs to see if he could get someone to make him a bite to eat.

Sarah was familiar with most of what she'd just read- not because she'd read it before, but because she'd done it. Then, she turned another page and.. there was nothing. After a certain point, the writing just stopped. She hid the book under her pillow and attempted to catch a ride to dreamland before morning. Jareth found the timid Lirette, who almost fainted at the surprise. He asked her to start on breakfast, and he stalked around upstairs as he waited. He was having trouble getting his mind off of his problems, so he was trying to focus on the mechanical task of walking. About six hours later, Sarah strolled down the corridors of the castle. She had no idea where she was going or how long it would take to get there, but she knew that eventually, she'd run into someone who knew where they were. But why did if have to be Jareth? Was there no one else in this castle?

Upon meeting Sarah, he pulled out his watch. Wow, had he been meandering around for that long.

"Sleep well?" he asked her as he slid the watch away.

"Well enough to account for actual sleeping. I see you didn't," Sarah wondered if he'd slept at all last night but then realized she didn't really care. "So, why did you put in a secret passageway behind my bookcase? And where does it lead to?"Jareth looked casually at her, "Does it really matter? It's all _fictional_ anyway. " 'Maybe it would be better if she thought like this,' he mused. "Hungry?"

"Not even slightly. And yes, it matters. ...I need to know, where does it lead?" As of about three this morning, she was convinced the Labyrinth and everything in it but her was completely imaginary, but as of 3:02 this morning, she wasn't so certain that it really was.

"If you must know.. It leads to my chambers. The castle is full of corridors and hidden hallways...If you aren't hungry, how about we find that fiend that wishes to undo me?".. Jareth was now the one changing the subject.

"Because, if we find it then I have to leave. Something else came up, and I'm not leaving until I know what it is.."

Sarah left him there and went on a search for the main door.

Marix stumbled into the dining room only to see Jareth sitting there alone.

"How long've you been up? Oh, and did you know that the bottom left corner of your bed is the most comfortable spot in the entirety of the castle to sleep on?"

Jareth grumbled at the orange fuzz.

"As long as you've been asleep. There better not be fur on my sheets. " Jareth sipped casually and nibbled on a muffin.

"I don't... shed. So, what's going on later today? Another party, a duel of some sort, anything special?" Marix climbed up onto the table in order to carry out a conversation better with Jareth.

Jareth looked solidly at the orange being. Normally, he would have been somewhat talkative, but today, he was having to much of an inner conflict to reflect any outward appearances.

" I'm probably going to spend the day in the study. " He said as he got up and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to any who've read so far, I'd really really like to hear from you. Still need a better title for the story.. '**

Lirette was wandering around, looking for her misplaced feather duster when she ran into Sarah again. Sarah had to once again ask where the door was and actually found it this time. She opened the gigantic thing a tad to get out of it but ran into someone. It wasn't Sir Didymus or Ludo, but she did see him yesterday.

"You.. Who are you?"

"I.. am Zandr, the true heir to the Labyrinth. And you must be the Sarah everyone keeps talking about. Where are you off to this morning?"

--

Marix had to do a morning checkup of the Labyrinth and went to a watching pool- a pool of water that acted much like Jareth's crystals- to do just that. Lirette cautiously approached Marix at the watching pool, somewhat curious as to what was going on. Something wasn't right around here lately.

Zandr, having only returned to the castle to annoy Jareth, continued talking to Sarah but slipped in through the door as he did so.

"That was almost four years ago, right?"

"Right, but it still seems like it was only yesterday." Sarah got distracted with the conversation and followed him back inside.

"So, if you don't live in the Labyrinth, then where are you from?"

---

Jareth stood in front of the massive portrait of Varien in his study. The painting had a wistful look on its face as it stared out across the Labyrinth from what was now Jareth's window. Jareth sighed and sat in the chair opposite the picture.

Marix saw Zandr and Sarah having a chat in the main lobby and waved the pool to change to Jareth's study.

"You have... a visitor in the main hall." He then went back to checking over the forest, the front gate of the Labyrinth, and the bog of eternal stench.

Jareth sighed and stood. The crystal that had appeared vanished, and he made his way sullenly into the castle. What he saw he didn't like.

"Back already?" he tiredly drawled upon sight of Zandr.

"It's actually not too far from here-What? Oh, yes.. I forgot something in the ballroom. I'll just go and get it.." Zandr didn't wait for an invitation into the rest of the castle, but instead just walked past Jareth towards the stairwell.

"How come you never mentioned your cousin before? He's much nicer than you..." Sarah implied as she approached Jareth. "..Don't you have some poor innocent creature to torture?"

Jareth shook his head,

"I thought you were brighter than that Sarah.. Believe him, if you must, but don't for a moment think that just because you believe something that it holds any relevance outside of your own mind.. " Jareth walked toward a random corridor, turning away from Sarah.

Zandr made his way to the ballroom and found what he'd left behind- a mask and cape, sitting pretty on one of the tables.Sarah shook her head and went off in another direction. Soon after, she ran into Zandr again.

"Find what you were looking for?"

"Sure did..."

Marix stumbled along through the halls as fast as he could, in search of Jareth. He saw the king sulking off down a random hall.

"Sire, there's a fire.. in the ballroom!"Jareth was shaken from his stupor, and with amazing haste, he found himself in the ballroom."Yeah, you go ahead. I'll catch up.." Marix said out of breath. The small being huffed to catch a break and fell over in exhaustion.

There were goblins with hoses slowing the flames, but not nearly enough to still it. Jareth began conjuring large deluges to defeat the flames. Eventually, the fire was no more. Unfortunetly, the same could be said for most of the ballroom. Jareth thought momentarily about repairing it, but decided to leave the smoldering mess as it were.

"Where's Zandr now.." Jareth said quietly.

"Just a mask and cape?" Sarah didn't think that was the only reason he'd come all the way back to the castle for.

"..For the most part, yep." Zandr nodded and then caught the sound of angered footsteps heading their way.

Jareth stalked angrily up to Zandr, not noticing Sarah at all, and grabbed him by the shoulder and whirled him around.

"I've been more than cordial to you, if only because of my infinite respect for your uncle, but you've pushed it far over the edge this time, Zandr. "

"...It was just a cape and mask," Zandr said in his confused defense.

Sarah, feeling the need to intervene, put a hand on both of them and split them up. "What's this all about? Who did what and why is it important?"Jareth pulled up a crystal displaying the scene that had just taken place in the ballroom.

"So what of this, Zandr..." he said sternly, but more cool that he had previously been.

"Did a candle tip over or something?Oh you.. you think I did this!Why would I do this?" Zandr glared at Jareth, knowing full well why he'd think he set it on fire.

"...Because.. you're that desperate to get the crown.." Sarah said, realizing she knew why and had started to believe that Jareth's suspicions were accurate. Jareth nodded,

"And you almost had Sarah in your pocket, as well. Frankly, I don't know what it is I'm to do with you. Varien wouldn't want to see his only kin locked in the oubliette.. But he certainly wouldn't want to see him committing treason against the institution he poured his life into."

"Stop accusing me of treason I didn't commit! Anyone in this castle could've done it-" "Yes, but you're the only one with a decent motive."

"So you believe him too now?"

"Well, if he's gonna be a jerk at least he does it out in the open..."

Jareth grumbled.

"Regardless, I've warned you enough. Though there's no doubt that you've done this, I won't lock you away. Get out, and don't come back. If you set foot in this castle again, action will be taken. No questions asked." Jareth felt he was being more than generous, and knew it was because of the ravens eyes that were now glaring him.

"Fine. I'll leave now, but once you find out it wasn't me, good luck trying to find me again." Zandr jerked away from Jareth, straightened his collar, and left promptly.

"...Not one word, Jareth. I know I was wrong," Sarah said after Zandr had left. She wasn't happy about being proven wrong by someone she slightly loathed for no reason at all, but was even more upset that she'd been deceived by someone she had just started to like.

"Hmph. Zandr loathes me, but he has nothing to do with hostile take over.. He doesn't have the stomach for it. Nonetheless, I don't think it's wise to allow him to be around with all of this still going on... " He looked over at Sarah. "Which.. I still require your assistance with."

"Yes, yes you do. And just how long are you going to be rude to your guest? Cause I'm not helping you until you stop.." Sarah decided to be the one to take an exit first this time.Jareth followed at her and wrapped a hand around her wrist,

"You've always gotten what you wanted from me Sarah, so don't tell yourself that it's my fault.. " He pulled her around. " Does this mean _anything_ to you? Do you still think this isn't real, that _I'm_ not real?.. Do you expect to wake up from this vivid dream, snuggled close to your beloved Andrew? ..."

"If this were a dream, I'd do something to wake up faster." Sarah wrenched herself free and started to leave again, but stopped with something else on her mind. "You tell me, since you're the one who brought me here the first time, is this all my imagination or do I really have a place to escape to from my normal horrible life?"

"The Labyrinth's is not your imagination...nor is it a place you can travel to for whim and fancy.." He voice slowly began to quiet, "But as long as you believe it's fiction.. than, that's the way you will see it.."

"Well, until I'm proven otherwise, I'll go on believing that it's fiction.." Sarah said shortly. She'd completely forgotten what she had intended to do today or even where she was going just a minute ago.

Jareth grabbed both of her wrists. He couldn't take what this was doing to him.

"Don't say I'm a whim of your childhood fantasies... Don't treat me like a _toy_, Sarah. I'm not a plaything. "

"Fine, you're not a toy at all. But you're more of a slave to me than anyone else is to you, and you chose to be one." Sarah's voice was cold in spilling the truth.

"...Choice has nothing to do with it," Jareth said with equal iciness. He wanted nothing more right now than to forget Sarah ever existed. "I'm what you expected me to be, all you wanted me to be, and I get nothing but hate, loathing, and trouble for it."

"That's because you were so cruel.. to me and everyone else in this kingdom. ...Why bother showing up as an owl at my window every night acting like you cared for me, when in truth you only cared for yourself? Was it so that everyone would be blinded and think of you a good person, or did you just want to blind me from the real goblin you are?"

"That's why you can't understand. This isn't your world...You're still looking at it as an outsider. I learned long ago that there's a difference between being a _gracious_ king and a_ good_ one..."

"And still you chose to be a '_good'_ king? Pity, you could've improved this kingdom so much... Who knows, maybe you'd have people wishing you a long and healthy life rather than trying to overthrow your reign."

"It doesn't matter what they think about me, I have to put all feelings aside.." He placed his hand on railing and the brick crumbled.. he ignored it and continued, "It's better they hate me and stay somewhat obedient than for them to love me for complete lenience and allow utter chaos. "

"Then why do you care so much when I say I hate you? Oh that's right, because you're _obsessed_ with making me happy.. Here's some advice, if you want me to be happy then you'll stop being so barbarous."

Jareth opened his mouth to reply. She was right, and yet completely wrong..

"How can I ever justify my reasons for what I do to you.." he trailed off more, and a crack formed in the wall he was standing near.

"You did it because you thought you could find happiness in making me happy," Sarah said automatically without thinking and then had to pause for a second to see if she really said that.

"I did.." Jareth admitted, "And for a long time I was right.. Even when I was just a lonely owl outside your window. " He sighed, "But my life leaves very little room open for powerful emotion, especially when there's nothing I can do to act on it. Always, I've been able to set it aside for more persistent matters other than my own.. Trading off emotional satisfaction for the material sort...But lately, I can't seem to escape it. "

"You did all that stuff for me, but I didn't appreciate any of it. I took it all for granted..." Sarah didn't hear a word of his speech as she was lost in her own. She grew flushed in the face upon finding out it was she who was the evil rude one and not him. "..I'm so sorry, I -I didn't realize that..."

Jareth couldn't believe his ears.. another dream perhaps?.. A good one, for once.. No. It wasn't a dream. All the trouble he had gone through these years was worth hearing her voice directed at him without malice. Jareth couldn't reply, but he took a step toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Sarah lowered her eyes to the ground, slightly ashamed of hating him for a fault all her own.

"...Why didn't you just forget me and move on?" There were still untold secrets between them that perhaps should've remained untold.

"You underestimate the difficulty of that, Sarah.." Jareth said with slight humor in his voice.

"Do I? Or do I just not understand why it would be such a difficult task for you to carry out?"

"Understanding is a big conundrum, for both of us it seems.. I suppose I have just as much trouble understanding your reasoning and you mine.."

"..That's because I come from a world with automobiles, whereas you come from a world.. with thirteen-hour days." Sarah had no justification in being angry with him anymore, so she simply wasn't. Jareth furrowed a brow and remembered something,

"Actually Sarah, I'm.. not from here at all." Jareth often forgot people didn't know that little detail.

"Well I would imagine all the kingdoms outside the Labyrinth had thirteen hour days, right?"

Sarah could tell he didn't grow up in the Labyrinth- no humans did.

"Any place outside the Labyrinth...that you can get to by normal means, anyway.." Jareth shrugged, "But.. what I mean to say, is I was born in your world.. "

"Really?... Well that's interesting. How'd you get here then?" Sarah had taken note of his hand not having been moved from her shoulder, she couldn't tell if it was to keep her away or kep her from leaving or maybe just for comfort purposes, but it was rather distracting.

Jareth lifted his hand for gesturing purposes,

"It's a rather long story.. I doubt it'd be that interesting, though.."

"Uh-huh... Does it have anything to do with a strange man coming in the form of a bird to your bedroom window every night?" When she was sure that he was about to say yes of something of that nature, she added," Then I don't wanna hear about it, you're right.."

Jareth raised his brows and sighed.

"Well it makes only sense... Inexplicably bound... inescapably connected. " He suddenly realized that they were still standing in the hallway."Hmm, if we're going to continue this chat.. perhaps we should go somewhere.. better furnished. "

"Then I suggest you lead the way, I can't seem to find anywhere in this place.." Sarah didn't know if this chat could be continued much, but she was all for finding someplace to sit down. Jareth smiled as he led her up stairs,

"It's simpler than you think, once you don't think about the impossibleness of the situation." He distinctly remembered getting lost in a stairway for two days his first week staying there."

--

**A/N: Did that just end on a happy note? Whoot! ... I think I'll take this time to further explain the way this story has been written. **

**JLB and I wrote it in sort of an RP style, that is to say, we each had complete control over certain characters.. mine being Jareth, Lirette, and Didymus.. hers.. Everyone else. (hey, It's a toughie being the J-man. ) That's why it may not flow as well, but it creates more of an ssue because it does have 2 different interpretations to it.. But, I'm just saying this to let everyone know that there's absolutely no plot line beng followed here, it is all sporatic and.. just.. happens.. REVIEW! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, last we left off on a rather happy note for our Goblin king. Let's see how long THAT holds out. . .**

"This is my study.." He held the door open for her. Sarah looked around for a while, "Who's that?" she asked about the man in the portrait on the wall. There were also several crystals sitting about all over the place. Half opened scrolls and random books littered the desk, and the small number of candles in the room couldn't possibly have made for a sustainable light source at night.

"That would be the Zandr's Uncle.. Proprietor of my inheritance. And, the raven that once took up residence outside my window...His name is Varien." Jareth looked respectfully at the painting as he spoke. Afterwards, he continued into the room and sat at one of the couches and looked over at Sarah, seeing if she would join.

Sarah came over and sat beside him, unsure why she had suddenly become so comfortable around him.

"And this _Varien_... why did he choose and outsider instead of his nephew?" She could see the high walls of the Labyrinth through the only window in the room.

"I can't say the exact reason he chose me.. But I can tell you why he didn't choose Zandr. Even when he was young, Zandr wasn't satisfied with the way things work around here.. Even though he was born here, he just can't seem to comprehend the inner workings of the place. There's something that I had .. and he didn't. Varien used to say he thought we were switched at birth because of it..but he never really explained why. He loved Zandr, but he knew he couldn't possibly take over the throne when he was gone. "

"That's nice to know.." Sarah had become curious of how much the Labyrinth had changed since the last time she was in it. She got up and went to the window, and sure enough everything had changed one way or another. Even the Bog had moved from it's original location.Jareth watched her from his chair, and suddenly the door came open and something came dashing across the room and skidded to a halt.

"M'lady, I have returned with news of Sir Ludo!" Didymus piped.

"Didymus, do you have a tracking device on me or something?" Sarah couldn't believe how easy it was for him to hunt her out, especially in a place named for its confusing twists and turns. "What's the news?" she asked finally. Didymus bowed,

"Sir Ludo is fine, though he's not keen on coming back in the city for some time.. He seems to fear a malignant neck-biter of sorts."

Jareth ignored the conversation and picked up a book from the table.

"Well that's good news. Perhaps you should follow his example and stay out of the castle from now on.." Sarah was trying to be nice to both Didymus and Jareth. Jareth looked up from the book at Sarah,

"It wasn't me.. It was the revolter.. " He said calmly.

Didymus nodded, "Sir Ludo also sent his thanks, your Majesty. " He bowed spastically.Sarah sent Didymus on his way.

"I know it wasn't you, and I know exactly who it was."Jareth kept his eyes on her. "What do you propose we do about the problem then?" he asked sincerely, for even if he caught the conspirator, he wasn't sure what a suitable punishment would be.

"We sit tight and wait for another attack, or until I see them again... I'm surprised you haven't figured out who it is yet- but maybe you just haven't ever seen them." Sarah returned to her spot on the sofa and picked up a crystal from a stand beside her.

Jareth watched her hold it and remembered when he had offered one to her, he wondered if she was thinking the same thing.

"Well.. Just as long as it's no big threat, I suppose waiting a bit couldn't hurt much.."

"..I don't see what's so great about this thing. It's just a ball of glass, and if I dropped it.." She actually let it fall to the floor to prove a point,

"Hey wow it didn't break.." The thing rolled under the sofa and wasn't seen again. Jareth sighed and moved the fingers. The crystal rolled onto the floor and into the air.

"I suppose it's one of those things you just won't understand unless you're inside the right mind set.." The crystal hovered before Sarah before Jareth let it pop.

"At least we can agree on that." Sarah didn't believe she'd ever understand the secrets of the Labyrinth. "So.. we're just gonna sit here all day?"Jareth stood up, he realized that while he was content on resting quietly after countless sleepless nights, that she was probably anxious. "What did you have in mind?" He inquired.

"..Not sitting here all day. That's about it though." Sarah also stood up, wondering what there really was to do for the time being.

"Let's go out then. There's plenty of things you've yet to see around here. " instead of heading for the door, he walked to the window.

"...Yep, you're insane," she said in regards to him standing by the window. But then again, nothing in this place was as it seemed, so she gave up on reality and also went to the window.

"... Do you trust me? " He asked with a hidden grin as he placed a hand on her shoulder.She stared at him blankly,

"..No. But I can already tell that that's not gonna stop you.."

"... You're catching on. " He shoved her out the open window and dived after her. Two crystals flew behind him and transformed into giant owl wings, A handy trick Varien had taught him early in his training. Jareth caught up with Sarah and snatched her in midair.

"You're evil, you know that.." Sarah knew something was up but didn't expect he'd push her out a very high window without warning her first. But from the air, she got a very good view of the maze before them.

"I believe that's the first time you've said that without sincerity.. " Jareth teased, "You didn't see the flower field last time you were here, did you?" Jareth gestured toward it. It was a large, brightened section in the maze with no walls, it had a large fountain in the middle. Jareth continued point out places of interest within the maze, flying slow so Sarah could get a decent look at it. In truth, Sarah hardly recognized any of it but the castle they'd just come from. There was a river running through it now, a nice addition seeing as how there were plenty of waterfalls. "What's that over there?" she asked pointing to a statue of a shape she couldn't make out from the distance.Jareth shrugged.

"Let's see, shall we?" He flew lower and toward the sculpture.Jareth touched down and set Sarah down to allow her to examine the statue herself.

"..Wow," Sarah muttered, her mouth gaping open at how much bigger it was on the ground than from the air. While she vaguely remembered the details of her last visit, she couldn't forget the masquerade.She looked over the amazing detail of her likeness as Jareth folded his wings as well as his arms.

"Too much?" He asked as he sat down on a bench near the hedges that made this portion of the maze. The sleeplessness was really getting to him. Sarah stared up at the statue of her for a minute before finally remembering the rest of the world existed.

"...Tear it down. it's too much, you have to take it down."Jareth hesitated for a moment, "If you think so. " He stood and waved his arms elegantly , sending a crystal toward the statue. It changed to a sitting figure playing a harp, and Jareth slumped back onto the bench. Sarah was always so.. exhausting.

Sarah looked around at the flowers, the fountain, and the new statue before deciding there was no more she wished to see here.

"Shall we go somewhere else now?" If Jareth was tired, he should've told her instead of taking her on a tour of the changes in the Labyrinth. Jareth stood and walked over to her. He unfolded his temporary wings and wrapped an arm around Sarah's waist before lifting off. "Where to next? Everything's changed so much in the past four years, I don't know what still exists and what doesn't.." Sarah couldn't help but watch the grounds they soared over- everything was so different, and yet it seemed nothing had changed. One thing had remained just as she remembered- the Bog still smelled just as bad. Jareth thought for a moment,

"The lake above the waterfall, " He pointed with a free hand, "Is personally my favorite new addition."

"What's special about it?" Sarah had to ask, seeing as how the lake wasn't exactly as spectacular as most of the other changes.

"Sarah you _must_ stop trying to see with your eyes.." He tapped her lightly on the forehead as he flapped over to the aforementioned lake. From above, it certainly didn't look special, but from ground view, the water reflected the yellow sky, making it look like softened liquid gold. Jareth wanted to see if she could figure out the rest of the lake's secrets without his help, so he refrained from speaking. Sarah took a step towards the lake, wondering what else there was to it besides being a golden lake. She soon learned that it had powers much like that of the crystals- it revealed desires, secrets she'd forgotten, and things she didn't know she knew.

"...I stand corrected- it's a great lake. Where are we going now?"

Jareth stood and looked with her,

"Back to the castle. I am anyway." He only half stifled a yawn," If you want to stick around, I could find you later, though.. "

"I'd rather not get stuck in another oubliette. Back to the castle then?"

---

A/N: Anddd... cut scene! Yes, this entire chapter had that lighthearted feel about it, but don't count it as a happy ending yet..


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:... .Wheee..whooo... review..oO... PLEASE.. I feel so alone and unloved (but less than three the reviewers, thnx)**

**-- **

"Jareth, this is Zandr. My nephew. Zandr, Jareth is going to live with us from now on.." Varien introduced the two teens. A tall goblin walked in and whispered words to Varien. He looked at the two. "I'll be back soon, pressing matters require my attention at the moment. " He glided out of the room with haste.

Jareth curiously eyed the boy of about his age. Zandr managed a smile towards the taller one.

"So you're from the other world I assume. What's it like there?" Zandr was used to Varien leaving at random moments during the day. A few years ago, his uncle had become his guardian- so now he only assumed this was the case with the other boy. Jareth looked at him with a much more relaxed look,

"Oh well it's nothing like this at all.Very dull. Everything is the same, everyday.. I went to school most of the time . Just a bunch of kids doing pretty much the same thing all of the time." Jareth fumbled around in a bag he had carried with him, "I have pictures of my house..." he finally found them and handed them to the other boy...He loved this place, but finding someone his own age made him a lot more comfortable about the situation. Zandr scanned over the pictures before handing them back.

"That sounds tragic. Care to go outside and see just how different this place is?" His Burgundy hair contrasted so much from Jareth's blonde-ness, but both seemed to have the same opinion about most everything they could think of discussing. Jareth tossed the sentimental pieces of photograph aside,

" Definitely... What's up with that pool out front? " He asked as they exited the room.

"My uncle put it in a few days ago, I still haven't quite figured it out yet..." Zandr said when they'd gone outside. There were voices from atop a slope nearby. One sounded particularly like Varien- he was telling them to get back inside for some reason. About a second after that, hail the size of a goblin's head randomly came out of the clear blue sky.

---

Jareth had that all too familiar feeling of landing back in his body.

He jerked up and gasped for breath, his heart racing. "... Damn.." he muttered, ".. What does Zandr have to with.." he trailed off as he reached for his watch, He had managed to get four hours of sleep in.. He crawled out of bed and changed out of his night clothes.

Sarah was noting how quickly a mess could be cleaned up with Jareth's magic around- the ballroom had no evidence of a fire whatsoever. She looked in all directions before finding no one else was around, and slowly started to dance.

Jareth walked down the steps and into the main hall, he went to check on the ballroom and saw Sarah gracefully twirling about. Jareth stood in the doorway and waved a hand. Slowly music filled the room, softly at first. He just stood and watched nostalgiacly.

Sarah at first paid no attention to the music until it grew slightly in volume. It was then that her eyes passed by the doorway where he was standing, and she stopped rather abruptly and gracelessly.

"I.. didn't mean to interrupt, " Jareth said with an apologetic air as he took a step in the ballroom.

"..Who's to say I wasn't just tired of dancing?" Sarah didn't know why she was trying to excuse her sudden end to twirling about the floor. Since he could tell when she was lying, there was really no point to it anyways.

Jareth placed his hands behind his back,

"Well since it appears you're done, would you like some dinner? "

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything.." Zandr's words passed through the ballroom door just before he did. "The door was open, I thought I'd see what's going on this evening..."

Jareth swirled around and looked at his rival. He opened his mouth in anger, but remembering his previous dream , the rage was stolen from him.

"Do you not have your own life to live Zandr? " he asked with exasperation.

"I did once upon a time, but then you moved here and stole it from me." The room suddenly got ten degrees colder with Zandr's remark.

Sarah backed up to a chair and promptly sat down in it to be out of the way.

"That's impossible, seeing as how it was never yours to begin with. Varien has his reasons and you've just been brooding about it all these years. "

Jareth crossed his arms and matched Zandr's loathing with a icy resolve.

"Don't act like you were always the inheritor. You don't know the half of what Varien told me before you came here. It was just happen-stance that he went to the other world and found you."

Zandr started to circle the borders of the room slowly, never taking his gaze from Jareth.Jareth looked at his bitter foe,

"You know he had reasons for what he did, Zandr... And I think what bothers you most is that you know he was right. "

"Of course he was right, he's _never_ been wrong before.. He just forgot that while he gave you everything, he left me with only the desire to rule and the hatred for you."

Zandr stepped more out into the center of the room to avoid running into the tables.Jareth's eyes narrowed with curiosity as he watched Zandr move.

" ..Nothing we haven't said before, Zandr. What do you want now?..."

"...What do I want? To know what she's doing here, and why I was instantly blamed for the fire." Zandr brought Sarah back into the conversation simply because it wasn't going anywhere fast. Jareth's lip twitched,

"You were blamed for the fire because you've no reason to be here, as for her, that is _absolutely_ none of your business..." Jareth took two steps in Sarah's direction as if proving his point.

"Hmm.. We both know I never have business or reasons to be here, so what's the point of keeping secrets?" Zandr halted where he was, seeing someone in the doorway.

Little Marix had heard the arguing of raised voices and knew where to find Jareth. "What do you want?" asked Zandr with disinterest. When Marix saw attention had turned towards him, he slipped out of the doorway to avoid having to come up with a reason for interrupting them. Jareth glared irritably at his 'cousin'.

"Zandr, despite you're insatiable love of sticking your nose exactly where it doesn't belong I have a hard time believing you to all of a sudden become such a irrefutable nuisance as you've been of late. " Jareth took another step toward Sarah, having not noticed Marix at all. Zandr had to be annoying as of late to distract from his real problem. But seeing as how Jareth wasn't acting at all like Jareth, he couldn't avoid it much longer.

"It's not my fault you keep changing the landscape so much that I can't find the way back home..."

Jareth paused. He hadn't realized his troubles would translate so far into everything else.".. .Well, Don't blame that on me.. _I _haven't changed it. "

Just then, a tentative Lirette slid into the room,

"Sorry.. to interrupt, Sire... ma'am, master.." she nodded to Sarah and Zandr as well, " But .. you have a visitor in the study. I think.. it's urgent.."

Sarah looked down at her wrist that didn't carry a watch.

"You know, it is getting late. I'll leave you to urgent business." She left on a mission successfully navigate her way back to her room. Zandr looked at the shiny new floor and to the freshly redesigned walls.

"We can continue this chat after you've had a talk with whoever it is then? I'll be waiting right here.."

"No, you certainly won't be. You're not leaving my sight. If you want to stay here at all, let's go. " Jareth waited for him at the door.

"You really don't understand that I have no intention of staying in a place so dreary and flammable..." All the same, Zandr followed him, though it was more curiosity to see who had arrived.

Jareth stalked upstairs, wondering who would have the nerve to wait in his study all the while. He opened the door to the currently dim room and saw the shadowed figure in the chair he had sat in earlier that day. His eyes widened and he glanced at Zandr to see if he could find verification of what he saw.

Black boots hit the floor and stood up long legs. A black cloak swirled around the knees along with unimaginably long raven hair. Yellow eyes stared like fire through a dimmed face. A voice emitted just a few tired but stern words..

"We need to talk. "

**--**

**A/n: And here it is... that's it till tomorrow. REVIEW and get's delicious e-candy (not edible) **


	7. Chapter 7

**A****/N: Yeah, I know.. I've been busy lately- UPADTENESS!**

Upon recognizing his uncle and the tone of his voice, he backed up a step to get out of there before he was brought into the conversation. He'd managed to make it to the opened door while walking backwards in the almost darkness.

Jareth stood in awe. For all he new, he was staring at a ghost.

Varien's smooth voice interjected.

" Zandr.. _We_ includes _you_. Both of you get in here and have a seat." Varien sat back down, and Jareth timidly walked into the room and sat in another chair..

"I thought you were.." he mumbled quietly.

Zandr took his seat last, and while he didn't understand most of what Varien and Jareth talked about, he knew that death was never on Varien's list of things to do.

Varien crossed his arms.

".. That was pretty much the case. I had no intention on returning here, anyway. I thought my job here was done .. .Needless to say, I was wrong. " He sighed and sounded disappointed rather than angered.

Jareth slumped into his chair like a scorned child and took several moments before replying,

"...Things _have_ gone downhill lately. Things I've had trouble keeping on top of," he admitted.

"...I've been no help keeping order around here either." Zandr almost choked on the hard truth because it meant he was supposed to help Jareth watch over the place.

Varien nodded.

"And that's not without reason. But we will get to that later. What troubles me more is seeing the way you two are acting toward each other. It's absolutely childish. "

Jareth said nothing in his utter shame, somehow this man knew exactly how to pound him with guilt just with words. Zandr shrank in his chair, unable to defend himself against Varien. It was never a problem with Jareth, but it seemed _no one_ stood up to Varien.

Sarah, always being the one to get lost, was passing by when she heard them talking. She stopped and peeked inside to see Jareth and Zandr.. and someone else she didn't know.

Varien continued,

"I know you have your differences but-... Aha. There she is. " Varien waved a hand so the door swung open all the way, "Join us." He gestured to another seat before folding his hands neatly in his lap.

Jareth's eyes darted to the door and he realized that, as it was when he and Zandr were younger, Varien must know everything... he smirked with the slight humorous memory before reality brought him back to the serious situation.

Sarah could tell this wasn't a pleasant conversation and really didn't want to get in the middle of it. But now that she'd been seen, she timidly walked in and sat where he'd told her to. She heard the door being closed after she entered and wondered why only one of them was talking.Varien continued,

"Though you two have your differences and certainly feel resentment toward each other for reasons undoubtedly caused by me, it's important you understand something. While you're my nephew and you my heir, you are both foremost my sons...With that, I hope you can forget your own reasoning for my actions and just trust that it was the right thing to do for the kingdom. What do you say to that?"

Jareth looked over the three faces before addressing Varien,

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused and neglected to prevent. I know it's _my_ responsibility now... but lately, I can almost feel my grip slipping in some.. unseen way, and it has had me on edge and quick to accuse..." he trailed off and quieted.

"Yes, yes you were- But... my immaturity was the sole reason for your edginess and lightning accusations." Zandr got smart for a second, but then remembered they were all on pins and needles. Most of what they said could make it either better or worse for them.

Varien nodded and folded his hands.

"Well now that's out of the way, for the time being at least, let's get to the problem at heart. " He looked at Jareth, then turned his gaze to Sarah. "What do you think about all of this?" "...You guys have Problems." Sarah didn't know what to say, so she just threw a joke in in hopes that it would lighten the mood some. Jareth looked over at Sarah when she spoke and quickly back to Varien.

Varien's expression didn't move, but his eyes wandered to Jareth's and found what they were looking for.. He returned his unblinking gaze to Sarah and retorted,

"...That is equally true as it is vague. Now, it is my understanding that this is your second visit here. The means of the first are no interest of mine at this moment, but, if I understand correctly you came here to help Jareth in finding a conspirator or conspirators..."

"That's the truth." Sarah didn't give Varien to actually ask why she hadn't told him yet before answering the unasked question."But, he hasn't earned the right to know who it is yet." Varien's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.

"... If there's one thing I dislike, Sarah Williams, it is a _hypocrite_. You constantly rave about Jareth's misuse of power, but when you discover you've a power over him, the first thing you do is use it to achieve your own ends. "

Jareth looked at Zandr with an expressed concern, but he wouldn't allow his eyes to meet the other twos.

Varien noted the extreme tension in the room and sighed.

"... Well I know I'm not going to get anything from you three as long as you're afraid I'm going to decapitate you for a wrong answer. How about dinner?" He stood up and walked toward the door and turned to make sure everyone was following him.

Jareth was the first to stand, he tried to relax a little, Varien had never done him wrong before..but he had never come back from the supposed grave, either...

Zandr barely touched the food in front of him, not for fear of it being poisoned or anything. He just didn't want to have a mouth full of food and Varien ask him something that required a quick answer.

Sarah, still confused more or less about who this man was and just why Jareth and Zandr were scared to death of him, decided it was best if she didn't say a word out of line anymore.Varien actually ate, he swirled a glass of wine and took a sip before looking at those before him.

"I assume you've noticed the sudden changes in the place..." He didn't address anyone in particular with his wandering gaze, "Let me assure you that that facet of the problem is no fault of the conspirators.."

Zandr shrugged with the fact that there wasn't a question in that statement at all, and became slightly more comfortable with eating.

Jareth looked up,

"Then what is it..?"

Varien raised a brow,

"You..But I'll not get into that.. The point is, we've got several problems on our hands here, don't we children? "

"Do you plan on finding a solution to some of these problems, or have you just come here to gloat about it?" Sarah couldn't hold in the remark anymore as he was doing a lot of talking and not a lot of doing.

Zandr stared down the table to Sarah, wondering if she'd actually just smarted off to Varien. Jareth placed a hand on his forehead and ignored the situation. Varien, rather than looking at Sarah, instead turned his head to face Jareth before looking back at his glass and addressing her. "It's not my place to do anything about it. In fact it's more your responsibility than mine. Though I doubt responsibility is something you're familiar with. From what I know every time you fault your first instinct is to blame it on another.."

"No, don't you dare try and pin all this crap on me. It's not _my_ Labyrinth.." Sarah, having not been hungry in the first place, got up abruptly to end all conversations pointed her way and left the dining room.Varien waved a hand, and the hallway Sarah had exited through led back to the dining room again.

"Regardless of that fact, you certainly had a hand in causing the trouble here.. Knowingly or not. " Varien turned to Zandr, "And you, are going through the motions, so to speak.. Instead of using your abilities for a productive purpose.."

"What am I supposed to do, go into the other world and be productive there?" Zandr was at a loss for answering unasked questions here, so he asked his own. Sarah stepped back into the dining room and immediately took another passageway. The next room over was the kitchen, so she sat down on a stool in there to keep from returning again to the dining room.Varien let her go for the time being, and continued with Zandr,

"What you two don't seem to understand is that I can't hold your hand and tell you what to do to make things better anymore. That, you'll have to figure out on your own. " He turned to Jareth, "But I do suppose I owe you both an explanation. ..Jareth, your responsibilities go deeper than you think. I never mentioned this before...because I couldn't...but there's a definite reason to the Labyrinth's strange behavior.. It's mirroring your emotional strain, and it can no more handle the long term affects of it than you can. The goblin King is much more than a monarch, you are part of this kingdom now.. and you have to remember that. " He turned to Zandr, " I hope that might give insight to my choice of heir."

"..Are we done here? Cause, I had the sudden notion to go find something interesting to do." Zandr was the second one to have enough of the conversation- even though he was almost certain now was not the time to leave.

Varien stood and slammed a powerful fist onto the table. Jareth flinched and scooted back, " After all the trouble the both of you have caused of late, I won't tolerate this level of disrespect. I'll refrain from expressing that toward the girl, if merely because she's of no direct interest to me. You two are going to fix this problem. I am not. "

Jareth looked at Varien.. _he_ hadn't said anything wrong. He hadn't said much of anything at all, finally he spoke up.

"I can see why the state the kingdom is in is my fault, and I'd like nothing better than to fix it, but I think I may be on of the few things I don't have power over.."

Zandr was made smaller in his chair again. He glanced over at Jareth for a second and had a hallucination that Jareth had devolved back into being a fifteen year old. He didn't open his mouth again after that.

Varien calmed noticeably and he sat down again.

"I may seem vague but you _must_ understand that this is very urgent. I cannot explain more than I have and I can't be here to help the two of you with this. I'm pushing the limit as it is.. but I can't say more. " He drained his glass, and with not so much as a sound he was gone, leaving naught but a black feather in his wake.

Jareth stood up.

"...I think this is going to get worse before it gets better," he said to Zandr. All hatred was forgotten temporarily on his end after this unexpected incident.

---

So. I suppose this was a sort of intense chapter. The next one's a kicker for sure.. tee hee.. review!


	8. Chapter 8

Sarah looked up as they walked in, half expecting he third to come in with them. When she didn't see him, there was a slight perk in her attitude,

" He's gone?"Jareth looked behind him before answering.

"So it would seem.. You got really lucky back there."

"I'm sure I was. What's the worst he could've done to me?" Sarah wasn't asking out of sarcasm, she really wanted to know.

"Well, I won't tell you the worst he's done to me.." Zandr lowered his head slightly in horrible and embarrassing memories.

Jareth sighed,

"Whatever he wanted. You really had no reason to say what you did.. But I don't think he'll be back, so it doesn't matter now.."

"Why, what did you tell him that made him leave?" Sarah got up and slowly walked over to them. There was a look on their faces that told her they hadn't done anything really, that he had just left. "...Dessert?" the nice treat that the goblin cooks had provided her might bring a smile to their faces.

Jareth gave her a faint smile and took the offered food,

"Sounds great.. " He sat across from her and changed the subject, "So you think you can navigate the castle any better?"

"Not if it keeps changing on me.. Maybe you should try shortening the halls a bit." Sarah tapped the stool next to her to remind Zandr that she hadn't forgotten he was there. Zandr looked back into the dining room out of paranoia for a second before sitting down and joining in the snack.

"I suggested that to him earlier, but he spitefully made them longer and more elaborate..." Jareth looked up from his food with a smirk,

"That's because it took you longer to find me that way... "

"It took everyone longer to find you, antisocial weirdo..." Zandr picked up a spoon left out on the table to help with the eating of the sugary food.Sarah's gaze passed back and forth between them, noting how the dessert seemed to help keep their threats and insults towards each other empty and unbacked. They seemed like.. children.

Jareth twirled his spoon between his knuckles,

"So I'm picky about my company.. Don't think I didn't see who you were talking to at the masquerade the other night.." he laughed a little, " I think you used to have a _little_ better taste.." "You would know, you were the one that bit me..." Zandr looked down at a random scar on his hand, Jareth canines were much larger than they should've been.

"You wouldn't let go of my hair. " He had felt biting was an equalizer due to Zandr's short hair. "Besides, you had me jump out the window that time. I just barely caught myself before I hit the ground.."Zandr shrugged ridiculously,

"I wanted to see a pig fly. Which I haven't seen in a while, where's the nearest tower window?" Jareth looked at him for a moment before taking another spoonful of pudding. Halfway to his mouth, it changed trajectory and Jareth flung it's contents at Zandr, hitting him square in the nose.

"Oink."

"Hey," Zandr wiped a bit of it off and tasted it, "his is better than mine!" He filled his own spoon with pudding and returned fire.Sarah ducked under the table before she was made a target for either of them.Jareth attempted to dodge but wound up with the stuff on his face anyway."You think so? Have some more!" He sprang up and grabbed a handful of the pudding and slung it at Zandr. Zandr caught half of it in his mouth and took a second to enjoy it. He scooped some out of his bowl and tossed it towards Jareth, then hid under the table as well as Sarah. He quickly gave up on that and came back up brandishing a sticky spoon. Jareth laughed when Zandr waved the spoon at him, His eyes found the serving bowl and he grabbed it in his arms.

"..Your move, Z. " He said with a raised brow. Zandr held the spoon at the ready and slowly approached his opponent. He made a very artsy swish with the spoon before burying it in the bowl of pudding. He then pulled it out and ate what had stuck to the spoon.

"This is really good, and the floors don't have taste buds- so why waste it?..." Jareth shrugged.

"Good point..."... He raised the bowl overhead swiftly, "But we've always got more." He dumped it over Zandr's head, getting as much on himself in the process before bursting into laughter. Zandr sat back down, wiping pudding from his eyes and nostrils.

"That.. was against the rules." he couldn't help but laugh as well.

Sarah slowly came up from below the table and almost immediately burst into laughter at how they looked. Her bowl of pudding was still half full and looked as though it tasted very good.Jareth smiled, pudding dripping from his chin,

"This was an excellent idea Sarah.." He slid residual pudding from a cheek and smeared it on Sarah's. There was much laughter in the kitchen for a while as Sarah searched for a rag to wipe her face off with. She handed it to Jareth,

"You've got a little bit there, and there and... everywhere."

Jareth stifled some laughter as he wiped excess dessert from his forehead down to his chin.

"Well. .. I'm certainly full... " He looked over at Zandr, " You're old room is still upstairs, you know.."

"Is it still as small as it was before?" Zandr asked just before there was a desperate banging at the door. Quite stunned, he turned in that direction and started down the hall.Sarah followed, slightly confused and worried, wondering who it could possibly be.

Jareth followed curiously behind them, a crystal at the ready.

**A/N: Okay, this one is short.. but I'm trying to divide it according to substace. Oh, Character death warning ahead..REVIEW.**


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